Horsemeat scandal hits courts in defamation case between companies
A meat trader claims his business was brought to its knees by false and malicious allegations made during the horsemeat scandal last year.
Martin McAdam of McAdam Food Products Ltd is suing ABP, a former arm of the Goodman Group, for defamation over a press release the company released at the height of the controversy.
Horsemeat was detected in frozen beef burgers from the Silvercrest meat processing factory in Co Monaghan last year.
Silvercrest was owned by the ABP group at the time, which issued a press release stating that it had purchased beef products from McAdams Food Service.
It said this was done in good faith, but horse DNA originating in Poland was present in some of these products.
The High Court's heard Martin McAdam and his company are now suing ABP claiming that this widely reported statement defamed him and his business by implying McAdams was the primary cause of the horsemeat scandal in Ireland.
ABP denies defamation and claims McAdams was already in financial difficulty before the horsemeat controversy.
In an application that will resume tomorrow ABP is asking the court to halt proceedings over claims the meat trader can't afford to pay the legal costs if his side loses.
